Too late at 48 to be honed & toned?

[trinni]

I have just put on a bikini and realised my thighs are going south!
I'm not overweight and have never done any proper exercise in my life.

Is it too late at 48 to tone up my legs and see some real results or have I missed the boat?

If I'm salvageable, what type of exercise should I do and has anyone else left it this late to begin?

I'm very determined but need low cost (ie not gym memberships) effective exercise.

Anyone?

vicar - how long does 5k take you - it takes me 40 minutes if I trane....but not up to speed so to speak and need to be

is 40 minutes slow? really slow?

sorry for hijack

I just want to say that anyone who is peri meno or therabouts should be careful with rowing exercises and possibly running.
I have low bone density shown up by a DEXA scan ( it is getting better with exercise and diet). It's not osteoporosis but could be without me doing things to help. I was warned that rowing is very bad for the back as any doubling over can cause weak vertabrae to crack.

ivy, we have footballs around the place so I could do that.

create, wow, well done!! See, this is what I need to hear, people who have been as slack as I have but who have achieved their goal. Can I ask create, what did you look like before you started, compared to how you look now? You are obviously much fitter on the inside too.

Ivy- I walk 5 k in 45 minutes and half of that is uphill to 500 feet. If 5K is 3 miles- that's how long my circuit is.

It's not a race though- if you run 5K at all you are doing well!

it takes me about 35 mins to run 5k. i run at 9km per hour on a treadmill, not sure if i would be any quicker or slower outdoors though. i cant find a decent route to run outdoors and end up on a treadmill which is b-o-r-i-n-g!

I'm glad I can walk/jog/walk. Don't know what the dog will think, she's a bit of a sloth too!

I applaud anyone who can run even 1k, I am beginning to feel very envious.

I've been trying to complete week 1 of c25k for about 5 weeks - I keep coming down with something (right now it's swollen glands) and having to start again.

Pilates is great, I couldn't believe how quick and relatively effortless the improvement in my thighs was - must start it again. In my experience it's taught better at a yoga centre or similar as opposed to a gym.

this is what i worry about - I think I could walk it in 45 minutes!

I want to do the club/gym tri (they have a golf coourse) swim 20 lengths, well I can do 14 lengths crawl ATM so getting there, the spin bikes will be used for the spin and it is 9.5 miles - which I can do no problem in 20 minutes - so make loads time, then the run aroudn the golf course...so I am looking at 15 max for swim 20 for bike and 40 minutes for run...i think?

I would buy a few weights/dumbels

around the 3kg-7kg mark and do soem traning with those at home

You could have a personel trianing session and explain what you want to gain and what you woudl buy and then let them sort you with a program - then when it gets easy 23 months down the line - get another session...it would work out cheaper than a gym and soem real guidance

i would do soemthing like thsiwithout the music

but it is things like - keep your chest high, and legsa bit further apart - those are the things you need to remember.

i don't think pop bottles filled with water work or are safe - sorry but proper weights aren't that expensive

thsi

But watch things like not swining your arms

this is what I mean with the ball and lunges

You can follow pilates on Sky tv. I was watching this evening (whilst eating) but it was aimed at pregnant ladies, so will look out for that another day and record - it looks almost easy...

it doesnt take long to build it up though trinni.

1k takes me just under 7 minutes. if you do the couch to 5kg podcasts i think your running 8 mins by about week 6 if my memory serves me right...

im 38. never done any exercise before, just started 6 months ago.

Thanks trinni, you'll be surprised how quickly you can build up to jog 1K if you give it a go and the sense of achievement is amazing. The dog will benefit from the gradual build up and improved fitness too.

I was never over-weight , but everything was a bit squiggy and I had a bit of tummy overhang in jeans, my calves wobbled when I walked etc. I actually put on a stone in weight in the first year of running, but went down a dress size. Now I have muscle definition in my arms and legs and am (quietly) sooo proud of my abs, I ran around with a ball (and DCs!) in a bikini top and shorts on the beach yesterday. I wouldn't have done that when I was 18.

Like I said the improved confidence has been amazing. I've been promoted twice at work since I started running and several people have commented that I have a new sense of self belief. I really do feel that there's nothing I can't do anymore, where before I often gave up opportunities believing they were beyond me.

Make a start with the dog now and see if you can find a running club with a walk run group. That will help make sure you keep it up during the winter and give you a whole new social life too. Runners are a fantastically friendly bunch and come from all walks of life, so you get to meet people who would normally be completely outside your social circle. My £10pa membership is by far and away the best £10 I spend every year.

ivykaty44, I want to do the same thing at the gym. I very nearly signed up for it this year but chickened out of it. Am definitely going to do it next May. My swimming is OK, I can run 5K in roughly the same time as you but haven't done it for a while. I haven't been on the bike at all.

Have you done the 5K trail at the gym? I did it last week but walked at a very brisk pace and did it in 45 minutes. It is a bit ropey in parts so I'd be surprised if anyone is able to run it all.

I wonder if we've chatted there?

Mmm ivy, doesn't she make it look easy? I could do that though, I'm sure. Thing is I'm only small and fairly lightweight but I'm so ungraceful and everything looks like such an effort when I do it.

I actually know a bloke who is a personal trainer, maybe I should approach him - never really considered it before. I hate all that 'who's got the best gear' gym mentality, puts me off.

I'd never do running - it's so bad for your skin tone later in life. You watch your face or bum when you are running and you will see how much the skin bounces up and down. One day it wil bounce down - but NOT up!!!

For rock hard thighs - squats with weights are the order of the day. You might have to do leg lifts for inner thighs if you need that too. But 3 mins a day is all you need to do. Squat as low as you can, with your weight in your heels and clench your buttocks as you come back up. Have some pumping music on and it'll be a doddle.

And Cameron Diaz swears by the Basil Fawlty 'german' walk for lengthening your legs.

Tracy - there are women at my running club in their 70s who have been running 50+ years. If I can look that good at 55 I'll be more than happy.

llaregub -which gym do you go to??

create, I am in total awe. I could never, never consider running around in shorts and bikini top but feel that with some effort it might not take me too long to get there cos I'm not large, just a bit wobbly.

Out of interest, are there any youngsters in your running club - both my kids would enjoy it but are they too young at 10 and 12? Not that I wouldn't enjoy some time for myself!

they have one in September on the 26th and are taking entries now...scared but I am going to do it

There are no children in our club, but some do have junior sections.

Setting targets works for me.

When I started cycling to work, I had to buy a bike and everything that goes with it(locks, lights, you name it). I worked out that if I cancelled the gym membership I didn't use, and didn't need to pay for trains, it would take me 3 months for the cost of the bike and all the Stuff. That got me through the first 3 months of cycling and by then it was fine.

someone said once to me that it takes 100 days for something to become a habit. If you're trying to make exercise a habit that might be useful for you.

If anyone is doing weights or lots of tonning don't expect to lose weight, as you build muscle mass you can actualy weigh MORE!
The best thing to check your fitness is to use weighing scales with BMI built in, then you can see how much of you is made up of muscle and not fat!

Walking is great but most people walk far too slowly for it to have a real effect.

Walk FAST and you will see a difference in a few weeks.

Dont concentrate on weight loss. Think about feeling good.

Dont go mad and set your goals too high. So many people do this and cannot possibly keep it up. Be realistic. Once you have reached your first target you will feel like you want to carry on.